The Lines We Draw
by Sombereyes
Summary: It was a dream she had ever since she was a small child. It had something to do with family, but it was very vague, and she didn't remember the entire dream. Mostly, she assumed it was because she didn't try to think too hard about it. It was just a dream, and it would never be reality. Simple as that. So then, why did she want to remember so badly?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I fully and completely blame skype conversations, and obsessiveness over Yang for this. Chapter 2 will be whenever I get around to it...

 **The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 1**

A moonlit night, so perfect that the large hunk in the sky seemed like a jewel in the darkness. Sweat beaded across her brow as another dream tore her from slumber. In the room, three others slept peacefully. Her sister, her friends…her team. This should have been a comfort, and usually it was, but not when Yang woke up restless and bored. It was hours before daylight, and most logical people would be nestled in their beds sleepily.

Not cocooned around their blankets, bleary-eyed and agitated.

Yang took a moment to consider her situation. They were so sound asleep that she doubted they would wake. Not even if the pup in the room started to howl at his food bowl. Even then, she was sure her younger sister would invite him onto her bed, and force him to lay down until morning came. She watched the darkness before deciding she could sneak away, her roommates would be left undisturbed.

Sunlight was at least five hours away.

Doing what she always did, she crept to the top of the school roof, a cold glass of water in hand as she sipped on it, sighing in wistfulness. It wasn't a bad dream that kept her up. It wasn't good, exactly, but it wasn't nightmare either. It was something else. A dream she had ever since she was a small child. It had something to do with family, but it was very vague, and she didn't remember the entire dream. Mostly, she assumed it was because she didn't try to think too hard about it.

It _was_ just a dream, and it would never be reality. Simple as that.

The cool spring water upon her lips left a chill that drizzled down her throat. It was the most refreshing that way. She decided it was as good a time as any to run through her usual late night routine. Stretching, she dove into a nearly meditative state. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and that was just the warm-up. Actions she knew like the back of her hand. That she didn't even need to consider or even think about.

It was her perseverance that made her stronger. Her gull that made her stand just a fraction above most of her peers. Her willingness to lose herself in her endeavors, that made her a force of nature in and of itself.

It was also profoundly unreasonable, even to her logic.

Unfortunately, she wasn't left to her own devices for long. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the perfectly white shawl that warded away the nighttime chill. It also kept a satin nightgown duly covered from roaming eyes. It was that latter reason Weiss kept the stupid thing. Since the dorms were co-ed, there could be peeping toms around the corner at every moment. She came to stand out of the way, the question in her eyes finding purchase in the air after a few long moments.

"Can't sleep again?"

"Nope."

"Another dream?"

"Yep."

"You're going to be difficult, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Weiss could only sigh, pulling at her shawl. It was rather cool out, and the nightgown underneath afforded her no warmth among the breeze. She watched with distant fascination. She didn't understand where the twin-fisted terror got her boundless energy from. Yang wasn't particularly a hyper girl, but being calm never completely suited her either.

"If you don't get enough sleep, you'll turn into a robot or something."

"Uh-huh."

"Not to mention, bags under your eyes, wrinkles, and all sorts of other things that'll make you look old."

"Eh, you're only as old as you feel."

"You'll feel old, Yang. Trust me."

"Well, they say with age comes wisdom, so maybe I'll feel smarter too."

"Suit yourself then." Weiss chided, though she could hardly grasp at her friend's logic. "Far be it from me to complain about your sleeping habits, but you know Ruby worries."

"Needlessly." Yang huffed with a playfulness in her voice. "Besides, you are complaining, you're just not being a pain about it."

"Yet." Weiss admitted, fighting back a yawn. "We'll see what I do if you pass out from exhaustion."

This statement aptly offered as a threat gave Yang pause. She ceased beating on the straw dummy in front of her, turning to rest her hand on her pajama clad hip. "I wouldn't do that." Then she laughed. "At least, I don't think I will."

"A first time for everything." Weiss shrugged.

"You're bored." Yang had deduced that by the way that the aristocrat hung around, loitering on the roof of the dorm. Weiss fancied herself an intellectual, and had her nose buried into studies that would further her own future. Combat and workouts, though important, took a back seat when it came down to raw skill. "You normally wouldn't be caught dead up here, so what gives?"

"I couldn't sleep either." Weiss admitted.

"Ruby's snoring like a truck, isn't she?"

Rolling her eyes only a little, Weiss didn't bother to validate Yang with an answer. Yes, the youngest among them was a loud sleeper, and yes, it was annoying. "I'm headed to the library for some late night reading. I thought you might like to join me."

"Maybe later." Yang said, brushing off the invitation. "I kind of reek, actually. I think I'll take a shower."

That was exactly what she did as the teammates parted ways. Yang headed for the women's showers that were open any time, day or night. She couldn't be bothered to follow Weiss right then. Studying more books about politics only made her head swim. She didn't care about stock exchange, or who the philanthropists of the earlier centuries were. She cared about the next day and what it would bring….at that current moment though, all she wanted was her shower gel and shampoo.

Then maybe if she was lucky, she could go back to bed…but even that she doubted.

…

A new day dragged with it a new set of challenges.

Long and boring classes ended with the usual sparring class. Truth be told, it left the student body completely exhausted. Mission assignments were doled out to teams looking for some extra credit, but several of the students couldn't be bothered. Team RWBY had been among them. The girls had other plans such as tending to their abused weapons. As Yang spent her time loading bullets into her gauntlets, Ruby and Weiss took whetstones to their blades. Blake who meticulously tended her own gear almost every night out of habit instead found herself mending old clothing instead.

"Man, I'm beat." Yang complained with a half yawn. "Nora's no slouch."

"Pound for pound, she's probably stronger than you are." Ruby noted, having long ago come to that conclusion.

"Strictly speaking, yeah, but she's not faster." Yang retaliated, examining her handiwork. "Either way, I feel bad for anyone dumb enough to get on her bad side. We were just playing around in the ring to day. We'd break the arena if either one of us actually got serious."

"If you feel that way, then we really don't spar enough." Blake said offhandedly, sewing needle in hand. "This school may not be too lax about it, but still."

"But what?" Ruby chirped.

"I can't help but feel like we aren't being pushed hard enough sometimes." Blake could have just bought a new clothes, she wasn't particularly poor, but this one skirt meant the world to her. She would repair the hem over and over again, no matter what. "Running drills and mock battles are just common sense."

A small jar of powder ceased tapping into the barrel chamber. The soothing sound welcoming only silence as the bottle was then sat down onto the desk with a muted clank. "I think you're missing the point. It's not about pushing us too hard. That's not the kind of school this is." Weiss said with a sigh. "Besides, that's the job of our families, at least as far as the school is concerned."

Yang took those words to heart. She lifted her gaze to the youngest among them. Ruby was a gifted girl, but with more assurance, she would become even stronger. They all would, and that kind of thing bothered the least militant among them. "Training regime or not, I'm glad this school isn't very strict. It means that I don't have much to worry about. I have enough on my plate as it is."

"It's not just you." Blake was the only one to detect that small note of concern, and the one to realize just who Yang was too busy keeping an eye on. Blake shrugged it off, it wasn't any of her business. "We all do."

"You do realize that the school is only making it into a test, right?" Weiss asked them both harshly. "The school keeps track of who applies themselves and who slacks off. It's all being kept on record. I'd put in a little more effort to be noticed by the top brass of every military in the world. Having that kind of clout goes a long way, no matter what you want to do."

Yang thought about that distantly. "I don't need clout. I just need skill. My goals are that simple I guess."

"Or that convoluted." Blake muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"That too." Yang waved them off, sauntering in the direction of one of the many hallways, turning left and disappearing.

"Slacker." Weiss could only sigh.

"Yeah, but she's our slacker." Ruby murmured softly, still eyeing the door.

Weiss gave Ruby a scathing glance. "I can't believe you just said that…"

"What?" The young girl asked, clueless. "What did I say?"

…

As much as Blake didn't want to admit it, there was some truth to Ruby's words. Yang was the group slacker, and it wasn't because Yang was lazy. She just had other goals. Going to school was just a formality, and at the end of the day, it was a game. Grades didn't matter, something else did. It was a concept of pride, and Blake understood that. She could even accept that, but, it didn't stop her from tormenting her partner.

"Hey!" Yang bellowed in the now empty gym as two bullets bypassed her entirely. With quick reflexes she launched herself into the rafters of the tall ceiling, clinging there before her friend came into view. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"It would take more than a few practice bullets to do that." Blake explained with her usual bored expression. Her footfalls echoed in the large space until she brought herself to a stop. A few feet from her companion, she smiled a little. "I thought you could use a target that fought back for once."

"As if Nora wasn't enough." Yang let herself drop, falling gracefully like a cat, her fingertips barely caressing the floor. Then she stood to her full height. "You have another chip on your shoulder or something?" She was already more than a little sore from their friend's antics. "You don't normally look for fights just to pass the time."

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Blake was no pushover either, and she could hold her own when it came to Yang. "You bailed out on everyone pretty quickly."

"I was just done reloading, that's all." Yang shrugged, her eyes falling to the weapons on her wrists. She checked the clasps that fastened them idly. "It was too early to hit up the mess-hall for dinner, and you know I get bored whenever I'm just sitting around."

Blake raised a brow, slender and full of concern as she kept her gaze focused on her friend. No matter what she thought about the situation, it really wasn't her place to say. Instead, she sucked in a breath, and let it out slowly. "Okay, so you were bored out of your mind, and you still are?"

"Basically." Yang spoke, her ultimate defense of brushing the world away seemed as strong as could be.

Blake pulled out her guns once more with blinding speed. Her quick draw was some of the best that training had to offer. Yang dodged expertly once more, flipping through the air before firing a few of her own training rounds in return.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Yang hollered, shaking her head widely, fists clenched and in a fighting stance before she knew it.

"Me? Yang, I'm not the one blowing off my friends because I can't handle even looking at them." A dark laugh entered the air, and then she sighed. "I really pity you sometimes, you know that? You're totally hopeless when it comes to committing to anything."

"This from the one who runs fleeing from the room as soon as she can't take what's coming." Yang fired back, another two rounds accompanying the verbal retaliation.

Blake sidestepped. "You're the one who ran today."

"Yeah, so what?" four rounds this time, two from each fist. "Everyone needs a little space now and then."

A backwards cartwheel, and Blake was back in the game. "But you don't want space, do you? Not really…" Six more shots, keeping Yang on her toes.

"Blake, shut up and fight me for real." Yang smirked.

Blake nodded, but she issued one warning that she wasn't taking lightly. "Sparring match or not, if you touch my butt, you're going to regret it."

"Oh," Yang frowned, but it was playful. "And it's such a cute butt, too."

Blake's eyes narrowed, and she began the charge. "Eat dust."

They were fast, darting around the gym, blocking and delivering moves that would have been fatal for the inexperienced. Crashing into walls, the floors, the ceiling, flinging bullets and harsh blows as if it were second nature. Any lesser person would have been reduced to a bloodied mass, but not these two. They were focused on the heat of the battle. The dance was as dangerous as it was stimulating to the senses. Yang was as predatory as they came when a real fight came around.

That's why Blake knew that Yang would be the victor once things between them turned playful, yet still violent. Yang was predisposed to taking hits and doling them out. As soon as a body slam landed her face first on the floor, Yang was flinging herself back up, trapping Blake, forcing her back to the ceiling and then crashing back to the wooden gym floor below. If it hadn't been for their training, and aura, they both would have been killed by Yang's raw power and force.

As it was, Blake only felt a small twinge of pain, though they'd both be sore later.

"Get off me you big oaf." Blake murmured, shoving her friend off of her.

Breathless and panting from finally being worn out, Yang looked down into the eyes of the only woman who really understood her. Resting her forehead on Blake's shoulder was as close to a 'thank you' as the black haired woman would ever get. Blake knew though, and returned the silence in kind. It wasn't really any of her concern anyway, and that's what made it so easy.

…

Another day, another dinner that had gone cold because of the team's tardiness.

The room was almost empty, save for a few other scattered teams that also had an equally bad habit about punctuality. Leading the charge was a bashful team JNPR, who was busy picking up the trashcan that Nora had ran into by mistake. Team RWBY helped clean up the mess, of course, but then they all split off into their respective groups. Like a moth to a flame though, Ruby didn't sit with her team for very long. She decided to go join the antics of team JNPR.

A particularly exhausted and grateful Pyrrha gave up her seat, just so Ruby could sit next to Nora.

Yang watched the display with a tiny frown. She always had way more going on in her head than she should have, and she knew that. Most of it was pointless and nonsensical, but some of it was deeper too. Like her sideways glances at her little sister from across the room. Ruby was sitting with Nora, the two of them bantering about something that had the boys hiding their faces, and the girls around them snickering.

Yang couldn't tell what was so obviously amusing, but she didn't care either. No, her concern was Ruby's nearness to Nora.

"The baby isn't a baby anymore." Yang said more to herself than her companions. "I wonder when Ruby will notice it."

"Will notice what, exactly?" Weiss asked, as she watched the going's on. She didn't notice anything strange or out of the ordinary.

"That she's got a crush." Yang proposed, popping a morsel of food into her mouth. The potato wedge wasn't as good as it could have been since they'd arrived to the mess hall late once again, even so, Yang wasn't exactly picky. "You going to eat that?" she asked Weiss, as she gestured to the woman's uneaten portion of food.

The silver haired teen pushed the tray to the side before examining Ruby more closely. "She does seem to be rather affectionate towards Nora lately." Then again, Ruby was clingy by nature. "Oh, this is ridiculous. She's a little young for that, don't you think?"

"Eh, I had a crush around her age." Yang shrugged.

"So did I, actually." Blake concurred only to have Weiss sigh at the both of them.

"You two were early bloomers." The retort came, and so with it, another despondent glance towards their team leader. "And with Nora of all people…" It was a hard thing to think about. "Ruby's going to get her feelings hurt if that's true."

"What?" Blake asked, confused, and almost outraged. "But why?"

"Because Nora doesn't bat for the same team." Weiss pointed out. "Even though she plays around with Yang, they both know neither one of them mean anything by it. It's harmless fun. Crushes are...well...different."

"Well, good theory, but wrong reason." Yang said then as she picked at the cold food in front of her. "It's not because Ruby's a girl. Though, that might have some small part to play too. I'm not sure."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Then what is the reason smartass?"

"Like I said, I'm not entirely sure, Blake." Yang surmised as she became gentle for a moment. Her voice turned low so no one would hear. "The thing about Nora is, she's deeper than people give her credit for. On the outside, she's fun to be with, perky, easy to befriend. Inwardly though, she's not as wild as she looks. Nora's ready to settle down a little, and when she finds the right person, she will."

"Makes sense, I suppose." Weiss agreed slowly, seeing the angle Yang was coming from.

"Ruby's just too young for her, too excitable than what Nora really wants in someone else." Yang concluded, popping another potato wedge into her mouth with a sad little smile. "Do me a favor and don't interfere. This is something Ruby needs to learn on her own. We can't help her this time."

"Are you really okay with that?" Blake asked, now just a tiny bit worried.

"Well, no, not really." Yang admitted, though she had already made up her mind. "She's too young to be in this school, but here she is. I just can't baby her anymore, even if I might want to."

"She's still just a kid, though." Blake said. "She may be a good fighter, but this?"

The elder sibling had considered that too. Long and hard, she thought about the best way to help Ruby. By not acting at all, life would turn out to be the best teacher. "Listen, she's going to be exposed to all sorts of things here. Ruby's going to need to figure that out on her own. If she gets hurt, we'll pick up the pieces later. For now, we need to let the chips fall where they may."

Though the other two understood what Yang was saying, they didn't like it. Not one bit. Still, they agreed, because Yang asked them personally, and that was simply that.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 2**

She was playing with her baby sister. That's how the dream always started.

A field full of flowers, crowns of daises, rings of golden dandelion. It was a simple afternoon in the late spring. While completing the much smaller crown for her sister, Yang would look up and see someone. Try as she might, she couldn't recognize the woman's face off in the distance. The dappled sunlight was bright enough to shroud the woman when the trunk of the tree could not.

Whoever that woman was, she was expressionless. Black hair wafting around her, hiding her like black smoke. The woman was standing not as pillar strength, but as a mere person lacking even dignity. Grace sacrificed for the thinning of her own resolve, and the turn of her back. The woman would begin to leave.

Yang would stand and take a few steps. Then, like always, a small hand would reach into her own. Her baby sister would toddle behind her, and cling onto the hem of her shirt. She'd been told several times before to stay with her little sister. To keep watch after her, and with a sigh, she picked up the small girl and carried her away to a safer place, where the stranger wouldn't be watching them.

Yang, like always, woke up shortly thereafter.

That dream, while not a bad one, lingered in her memory. She knew who that shrouded figure was now that she was older. It was her mother. Yang had long grown accustomed to those fleeting moments of seeing the woman. It happened a lot, actually. Even more often than not, she felt the eyes of someone burning into her back, watching her. Though she suspected a mother's love ran deep, she had no proof. She had no reason to believe that the shadow stalking her actually cared about her.

So then, why was Yang still alive? After all, there were many times she needed saving as a child. Times when she even endangered her baby sister. Times they both should have been killed, but people always seemed to protect them. It wasn't just her uncle, or her father. There had been others too.

In the darkness of night, when her eyes tempted to betray her with confused tears, she wished that shadow loomed now. That she could ask questions to the darkness, and maybe just once, hear an answer. It was a silly whim, and Yang knew she wouldn't have the opportunity. Still, it was what drove her. To be able to ask one simple question.

Why?

Just...why?

Reaching for the water bottle, she swiveled the cap and took a long drink before rolling over once more. It was only a few hours before dawn, and she would let her thoughts wander the empty space between wakefulness and sleep, categorizing that dream again. Thinking of it, and the small bit of comfort that it provided. The tiny reason Yang kept searching for her mother.

Because that woman's face had been filled with regret. For just one moment, a mother looked to her child with love, and a farewell. That Yang had seen her that one time had been intentional. Her mother had wanted that, but for what reason, Yang never knew.

...

It was sometime around sunrise that she felt her bed sink with a weight that was not her own. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the murmurs of the other girls. Her breath remained even, her body moving only slightly with each exhale.

"No use." Ruby hissed so loudly that it was laughable. "Out like a light."

"Still?" This came from Weiss, who was more in control of her volume, and of her footsteps.

"Let's leave her be. It's not like we have class today." Finally Blake, the reasonable one. "There are plenty of other places to be, rather than stuck in here."

"Common room?" Ruby asked.

"The library." Weiss retorted with her usual bite laced in her tone. "You need to start working on your grades."

"Hush, before you wake her up." Blake nagged, dragging both the girl out of the room and closing the door behind her. "We'll figure out where to go as we walk."

There were a few angry utterances from beyond the door, but Yang wasn't quite sure what the arguing was about. It slowly turned quiet, and that's when she finally pulled herself out of bed. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she just wanted to be lazy. Of course, that was the first sign that something was terribly wrong with her, and she didn't want the girls catching onto to her.

It was bad enough Blake seemed to know.

She looked to the wall. Four shower baskets hung in their respective positions, and Yang took hers and headed for the showers at the end of her floor. It was the only place with any real sort of privacy, and even then, she didn't seem to be alone.

"Morning Yang." Pyrrha greeted from one of the sinks, her long red hair wrapped up in a towel. "You're up early."

"I wanted to beat the rush." Yang replied, heading towards the rack of towels that were freshly laundered and folded each day.

"Aren't you usually one of the rush?" The woman asked with just a small hint of amusement playing across her lips.

Most of the time, yes, she was. All of team RWBY, Nora from team JNPR, Velvet from CFVY, and several others had such bad time management skills that they always ended up fighting over the ten sinks, showers, and toilet stalls before classes commenced. On weekends, mornings in the bathroom was like that of a ghost town, and many of the early risers took joy in that.

Yang, however couldn't keep her brain where it belonged, and her mouth ran away with her wayward thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said, sending her friend a passing sideways glance. "Could you repeat that?"

"Level with me here." Yang sighed, setting her basket down on the counter and leaning against the tiled wall. Arms crossed casually, her feet did the same at the ankle. "What in the hell is Nora thinking?"

"I don't try to understand half of what she does." Pyrrha shrugged, not wanting to anger the elder of the two siblings. "You're going to have to clarify."

"Ruby." That single word was all it took.

"Oh, I see." That name and the way it came out. Pyrrha set down the brush she had just picked up, leaving her damp hair forgotten. "I was wondering if you noticed that."

"Kind of hard not to." Yang replied evenly. "She is my little sister."

"That's true." Pyrrha let her words trail off in thought. "Nora's not thinking, or rather, she doesn't think anything of it."

"That's what I was worried about." Yang muttered, rubbing her face out of frustration. "Stupid…stupid situation."

"Nora's not trying to be malicious. In fact, I don't think she has it in her to lead Ruby on." Pyrrha explained with soft conviction. Pure honesty and little more. She cared about Nora and Ruby both, and had been monitoring the situation from afar. "She's just not that kind of person."

"I know that." Yang said with a roll of her eyes. "If anything, it's one-sided on Ruby's part. Still though, you can't blame me for being worried about my kid sister."

"Maybe you could just talk to Nora yourself." Pyrrha suggested simply in her usual gentle manner. "I'm sure she would understand."

Yang shrugged, but didn't give any voice to the tumbling little considerations. She kept rolling them around in her head. She also didn't like any of the answers she could come up with. "That's what I'm afraid of." Yang finally said under her breath as she picked up the basket and headed across the room to where the large showers were located.

The sooner she could stop worrying about Ruby, the better. Though, if she were being honest, she knew that her younger sister's plight was merely a distraction and little more.

And if that shouldn't make her feel as guilty as it did, she didn't know what should.

…

Yank knew it was wrong to listen in on her own team's conversations, but she couldn't help but worry that they were catching onto her. Or rather, that one person one. Weiss wasn't particularly stupid. Where Ruby was the strategist on the fly, Weiss was the technical expert. Leaving the two girls along was a recipe for disaster. Blake had a tendency to play devil's advocate, which only further complicated the whole situation.

And Yang, didn't want Weiss to find out the truth.

So like snoop, Yang expertly eavesdropped on the situation. Pressing the receiver into her ear, the bug she had planted in Blake's ribbon did most of the work for her. Though, she would pay dearly in expensive fish dinners later, of that Yang was sure. The conversation was garbled, but hearable.

"All I'm saying is it's not like Yang to skip breakfast." Weiss murmured over her perfectly balanced meal. "Maybe we should bring something back to the room for her."

"I really don't think that's a good idea." Blake pointed out.

"She does seem to be in a bad mood." Ruby noted.

"Blake, she's your best friend, right?" Weiss asked with a cutting tone. "Don't you know what's wrong with her?"

"It isn't my place to say." Blake knew alright. A little slip of the tongue would be all it took, but she kept it to herself. She flicked her eyes to the wall that Yang was hiding behind and smirked. Just because she agreed to go along with Yang's goofiness didn't mean she wasn't going to have fun with it. "Yang just needs to sort some things out for herself. Too bad she has bullets for brains sometimes."

"What a second. This isn't about yesterday, is it?" Weiss asked cryptically.

"What happened yesterday?" This came from Ruby, reminding them of her presence.

"Nothing." Blake lied easily. "We were just talking about the new dust compounds in the bullet that Yang uses."

"Oh, okay." Ruby accepted the explanation simply as that, while both Yang and Weiss both took a sigh of relief.

Yang pulled the receiver out of her ear, mentally promising to douse Blake with ice water the next chance she got, knowing that Blake hated freezing water more than the average person. Until then though, she would have to play the part of troublesome older sister. It was the same routine every day, that perfect mask of resistance up once more.

Yang exuded her false bravado and charm with witty flirtation. Luckily for her, a perfect target passed her by.

Rolling with the flow given to her by the ever collected Coco Adel, Yang took her opportunity. "Hey, mind if I borrow you."

"Up to no good again, Yang?" The woman asked, her eyes peeking out from the rim of her glasses.

"As always." Yang said with a smirk. "So, you mind?"

"You're just lucky you know how to play it cool." Coco said as she slid her hand around Yang's hip, her fingers brushing along soft, exposed skin. Yang shivered at the feel, and Coco noticed. "Been a long time, huh."

"Too long." She admitted as they started to walk. "So you and Fox?" Yang's hand found its favorite perch, the ass pocket of Coco's dark pants, her fingers and palm a perfect fit. Coco was everything Yang looked for an wing-girl and more. That she could play with Coco on the side a little bit was only added fun.

"And Velvet." Coco murmured.

Letting out a low whistle, Yang tried to interpret that the best she could. "Didn't know about her."

"Keep it on the down-low. She's not a fan of PDA, and so we keep what we do with her behind closed doors." Coco explained in a hushed murmur into Yang's ear. As they passed table after table of unassuming eyes, Coco smirked against that heated flesh. "Yang, if you ever needed to take the edge off, you know where to find me. I don't make that offer lightly, either."

"Yeah, I know you don't." Yang sighed, mentally pushing away a world of temptation offered to her in that one single moment.

"No come-back?" She let her palm squeeze that hip that fit so good in her hold. "You must really be hard-up."

"You have no idea." Yang admitted, with a hiss. If she was merely looking for a one night stand, she wouldn't look any further. The only problem was, she wanted more than that. Yang craved the touch of a woman who didn't even know how she felt. "It's fine though, honestly. I'll get mine soon enough."

"Better get it soon, it's not good to be so pent up." Coco smirked, her thumb brushing up exposed skin once more. Yang's shiver was delightful, and that flash of red in Yang's eyes was hotter than any she-devil to cross Coco's path before. "See what I mean?"

Yang Squeezed Coco's ass hard. "Stop being a bitch."

"Then stop making it so damn easy." Coco retaliated coyly, her breath doing terrible things across Yang's neck. "You're making it too hard to resist." Finally, they came to the table that the freshmen were sitting at. "Hey girls."

"Hey Coco." Ruby greeted, her head cocked to the side as she took in the familiar and yet strange sight. "Yang, are you hungry? You don't have a food tray."

"She's mine for today." Coco said, pulling Yang just that much closer. "Actually, I wanted to borrow Blake too. Velvet and I need some sparring partners who don't mind playing dirty. I would ask Pyrrha and Nora, but from what I hear, Nora's too predictable."

"You two good to study on your own today?" Yang asked Ruby with her usual cocky smirk.

"Uh, yeah..." Ruby agreed. "I guess."

"We'll be fine." Weiss said as she gathered her things. "I'll help get Ruby caught up."

"That settles it." Yang grabbed Blake by the shirt, yanking her to stand. "Come on Blake, let's go kick some ass."

As the trio trudged off, Blake noticed something that made her ears twitch. She doubted even her ribbon could hide it. She glanced over her shoulder. Weiss was watching them go, a dubious look on her features. Her eyes burned into one back in-particular. Blake waited until they were further out of ear shot before she spoke about her findings. "Um, I hate to say this Yang, but it looks like she's on to you."

"Well maybe if you'd let Coco get a little frisky with you too, I wouldn't be having this problem." Yang said softly, but with good humor.

"It was only a matter of time." Coco said coolly. "Face it, Yang, your losing your game here."

Turning the corner, they hit an abandoned hallway. "Alright then, what would you do?" Yang asked, a tiny hint of desperation finally reaching her voice.

"Blake, meet up with Velvet in training hall two. I'll be there with this one in just a sec." Coco explained as she carefully pulled off her glasses, and rested them on the collar of her shirt, only partially folded.

Blake bristled, a shiver rolling up her spine. She knew what that meant, and didn't want to be around for it. Coco never showed her eyes unless she meant business. It wasn't the violent kind, either. Having been on the receiving end of one of Coco's discussions before, Blake wanted nothing more than to find their bunny-eared friend and put this whole situation behind her.

Coco pushed Yang into a nearby elevator, closing the doors, and slamming the emergent stop button. Here, they'd have a little privacy. "Okay cutie, listen close. For an underclassmen, you've got game. That'll get you by if you're looking for a good time, but that's not what you want." Coco was sure of that, because even with having Yang up against the metal wall, it wasn't lust that swirled in lilac colored eyes. "You can keep shaking that tight ass of yours, keep flirting, and playing these games. I don't mind."

"Geeze, I didn't think I'd be getting a lecture from you of all people…"

"Look at me Yang." Coco murmured hotly.

The younger girl didn't have the gull, because that wasn't playful cockiness in Coco's tone. It was something a fraction deeper, intent. Of what kind, Yang wasn't exactly sure. She didn't give coco the satisfaction of obedience. "No."

Leather clad fingers lifted Yang's face, meeting the younger girl's gaze once more. "You can't beat me in this. It's not about fighting. So spill, why haven't you told her the truth? It's not like you to cower."

Yang nodded, sighed deeply, and shrugged. Coco wasn't the enemy here, which is why she hadn't yet raised a fist to the woman. "I'm riff-raff, okay? I get that. I don't stand a chance with Weiss."

"You're selling yourself sort." Coco had always wondered what it would feel like to kiss this woman. To take her and have her way with her. Yang, while a flirt, held a timid nature expected of a girl her age. "I'm an aristocrat too, and if I thought it would go somewhere, I would have been after you the first day you sauntered your happy little ass on the campus."

"It's different with her."

"It's not."

"Yes! It is."

Yang was starting to put up an interesting fight of denial. With one dark eyebrow raised, Coco let a little smirk show. She slid one leather clad thigh between Yang's own. Coco had always found it strange that Yang left so much of her body exposed, chalking up to a matter of fashion choices along. She had soon come to find that all of that exposed skin was like an armor to Yang. A way to intimidate and keep people from getting too close. Yang exuded sexuality, but cut to the core of all of that, and you had an average teenage girl, with average teenage problems.

Yang needed to be brought down a peg, and Coco was too happy to oblige, her lips claiming those of the twin-fisted terror in a rough and heated kiss. At first, Yang tried to back out, only to feel the metal wall keeping her there. It was only after a soft groan of frustration from Yang that Coco broke the contact. "It's that easy Yang. Put the ball on her court, and she'll handle the rest." Flicking her glasses out, she perched them back onto the bridge of her nose. "Now then, I believe we have a sparring match to get to."

…

For days, Yang felt that mind numbing tingle of an earthshattering kiss. It played havoc on her mind. It wasn't so much the kiss itself, as the message behind it. What Coco had told her to do made Yang balk. For all of her confidence, she couldn't very well pin Weiss down and kiss the woman. It was what Yang wanted to do, of course…but it wouldn't be the right thing. Although, she doubted that just telling Weiss would do her any good either.

Weiss was starting to suspect her of something, too. Yang was noticing more sideways glances, more strange looks. Yang should have known she was dragging things too far, but, she couldn't help it. As a huntress in training though, this was inexcusable.

No plan survives contact with the enemy – it was an old saying drilled into every young cadet who first begin training.

Be it military, or the hunt, every young man and woman to enter an academy such as Beacon understood those words and took them as law. Hunters would become the hunted, and grim would run wild if such laws weren't stringently obeyed. Humanity teetered on the cusp of ruin, and that was something that everyone knew in the backs of their minds. Peace of the soul was a precious thing, and it was something granted safe harbor in the hearts of the youth. They carried on the traditions of their forbearers.

At least, that's what the musty textbooks said over and over again.

Yang wasn't paying attention to the lecture going on, her mind was on the woman beside her, dutifully taking notes. She sighed to herself as she looked at three other people she called a team. Blake didn't need to study to get by, it was simply a formality. She read for pleasure, not for school. Weiss studied too much, as proved by her rigorous note taking, and utterances that the portly man in front of them was talking too fast. Finally, Ruby say the furthest away in a daze. She was listening, but she wasn't writing anything down. The next test would only prove just how lackluster Ruby's memory really was.

Yang looked down at her own notebook, realizing how barren it had become. She'd been spacing out for a while now. Much longer than she should have, and finally the bell rang, singling the end of the torture. Like always, the man in front of them left his story unfinished, to be bantered upon the next day.

"Yang," Weiss said as she closed her book. Her crisp eyes saw the lack of Yang's own endeavors, and concern filled her voice once more. "We need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 3**

What was so bad about a private talk among friends? They murmured amongst themselves all the time. Sure, most of the time, it didn't have to do with team related matters, it was just gossip, but still. Yang was sure she could deal with it, and didn't even think twice about that.

Weiss, ever the conservative, was the easiest of the three team members that Yang had to contend with on any given day. The white haired girl was many things, but not a street rebel. Her words, while sometimes scathing, couldn't hold up to the back street lingo that Yang spent her life around.

Her father, her uncle, and even Yang herself, knew how to spit an invective or two. A verbal tang was nothing to Yang, and she tuned out most of the shorter woman's blathering, instead she focused in the beauty in front of her. Yang was reaching her breaking point for silence though, and fast.

It wasn't her words that had run away with her, but her brain. Weiss was too close, her lecture falling on deaf ears. She prattled on about grades expectations, but Yang couldn't think about that. All she could do was remind her hands to keep to themselves. Weiss was so close, so off kilter, and it would be so easy to just take that woman in her arms, claiming her….maybe even breaking her.

That last thought sent a wave a shame to strike at Yang.

She didn't want to hurt Weiss. She wanted to bury that complicated feeling in her chest. Rejection was the only way to do so. Just as Yang was about to do something beyond stupid though, Weiss delivered a string of words that nearly crippled the blonde.

"…I get it if you have a thing for Blake, but if you do, you just need to tell her what's going on."

And in that one line, Yang's thoughts derailed.

"I…" Yang tried to come up with some form of denial, but she was too caught up in the way that Weiss looked at her. The way they stood so near to one another. "What?" Yang croaked out. She had to have heard that wrong. She. Had. To. Have. There was no way.

"You have a thing for Blake." Weiss said then. "And it's killing your grades. Not to mention that it also seems to be dragging you down. It'll keep doing that if you don-"

Shocked beyond her own failure to think, Yang had covered the girl's mouth with her palm. Now that she reached out though, it was hard to pull herself back, and her palm eased, her fingers becoming a gentle caress on that perfectly porcelain skin. Hissing to herself, she pulled away as if such a simple touch alone could burn her. In some ways, it truly had, and she turned on her heel, sauntering off with speed in her step.

She wanted to deny it. God she wanted to. To prove to Weiss just how deeply she cared for her. Even still, it was a matter of self-control, and one Yang was losing fast.

"Yang…? Hey, wait up! I'm not finished with you yet."

She heard the footsteps behind her, and that resolve, that control, snapped. And then it caught fire, her eyes flashing red as she turned on her heel once more. Weiss was right there, so close that the tips of their shoes touched. So close, she could hear the girl breath, and god help her, that was all it took.

Yang grabbed Weiss, the two of them stumbling into the wall and down behind the row of crates that waited to be moved into a battle arena. Yang's breath came out hard and fast, her chest heaving because it hurt. Everything just hurt. To hear those prior accusations ringing over and over in her head, it made her so angry she didn't know what to do, or even what to say. It all burned, in ways Yang had never imagined that it could.

Closing her eyes, she sighed and forced herself to let go of the arms that her hands held captive. "I don't have ' _a thing'_ for Blake." Yang muttered, feeling repulsed by the mere thought. Not because she didn't like Blake, because frankly, Blake was the best friend she could ever have…but that friendship came with a territory. A line that as much as Yang would play the line of, she would never, ever cross.

"Yang, you're acting really weird. That's the only explanation." Weiss replied with some level of authority in her quaking voice. "You have feelings for Blake, and the sooner you admit it to yourself the sooner-" That hand stifled her words again, and this time Weiss slapped it away, exasperated and confused. "Stop that."

"It's not….Blake." She spat the name this time with a level of disgust that betrayed how much she truly cared for her comrade…but, that was like line. Teammates, best friends, bunkmates, but never lovers. The line was drawn between Yang's perverse jokes and the real deal. "I don't lover her, and I never will."

"Then what in the Grimm infested world has gotten into you?" Weiss asked heatedly, leaning in just a little too close.

It was Yang's undoing.

She didn't want to hold back anymore, it wasn't in her nature…and Weiss, she was too tangible. Leaning forward, Yang bridged the gap, her hands raising up to brace the wall, as her lips found their goal. The kiss was that of a dull ache in Yang's chest, a pounding of resolve shattering moment by moment. Weiss remained shell-shocked and still. Even so, the kiss was too sweet. The reaction wasn't what Yang had dreamed of, but the contact…the small truth of how she really felt…Yang had wanted that too long.

She craved to be honest the whole time, and at the very least, she had that now. With great difficulty, she pulled away, but not before nails bit into both her shirt collar, and the top of her breasts.

"What the hell?" Weiss had somehow found her voice, mumbled her question against Yang's lips, holding her there. It was brutally sweet torture, because Weiss wasn't exactly pleased.

Yang wrapped her arms around Weiss in a crushing hug. If she was allowed to keep this close proximity, then by the gods, she would do everything in her power to never let go of it. Even when she cracked an eye open to see that dubious, and aggravated stare, Yang wasn't afraid of that. She was afraid of losing this level of contact forever. To be denied would be a terrible thing, so she relished it now, cloaking herself in the warmth that was Weiss.

She buried her nose into the crook of the woman's neck, breathing deeply. Some to steady herself, and some to remind herself of what this felt like. To learn how amazing it might really feel. If her heart didn't actually implode on her...if Weiss accepted her...this would be heaven. "It's you, okay? Not Blake. You."

And though Weiss had heard the words, she didn't process them…and Yang didn't elaborate.

"Just you." Yang would only say that much.

It wasn't in her nature to really explain herself. Yang's actions were always her own, and being raised in such a casual environment had afforded her the luxury to truly be accepted without complicated preamble.

Weiss suspected she would never truly know what kind of insane notion had flitted through Yang's head. At that exact moment, she was more than okay with that mystery. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, not even when Yang stood up, and offered her hand to help Weiss do the same.

No more was even spoken about the matter.

Weiss merely covered her lips with her fingertips as Yang walked off, more confident than before…

More at ease, as if a weight had been lifted.

…

Weiss wished she could say the same.

That she was laughing as easily as Yang seemed to be.

Over the dinner table that night, Yang was flinging peapods at her sister one at a time. Ruby would catch them in her mouth, and retaliate with a small meal item of her own. Torn bits of bread normally, as fruit had a tendency to hit Yang in the forehead. Nora, of course, was not to be left out of the dinner time fun, and soon joined in from an entire table over, causing Blake to use her book as a shield from croutons.

Weiss observed all of it, including when Ruby went to go join Nora's table, and Blake snuck off to do more illicit research about the white fang.

This left Yang and Weiss to their own devices. While Yang seemed to be acting almost normally, Weiss couldn't say she felt the same. If anything, her head hurt, and Yang was the one to blame for that. "Now I see where Ruby gets her careless attitude from."

"Huh?"

"No wonder she can't help but be a fool sometimes. You're no better, and you should be." Weiss said with a hint of anger, and something else that even she couldn't quite describe. Yang had managed to get under her skin, and it was disquieting to say the least.

"I don't follow…" Yang said as she caught another bit of food mid-air. Perfectly white teeth nipping at the grape, toying with it idly before that luscious red piece of fruit disappeared between her lips.

"Um, hello, you're the one who kissed me…" Weiss hissed, trying to be quiet and failing. "Don't tell me you could just forget about that so easily."

"I didn't forget." Yang explained, though her eyes were trained on Ruby and Nora. "I want to do it again, but I know that's not ever going to happen." Ripping off a huge chunk of bread, she crammed it into her mouth. It was just a ploy to keep her mouth full so that she didn't have to keep talking, but it was one that was short lived.

Weiss yanked the tray away. "Yang…stop playing around. I want to know the truth, and I want it now."

Swallowing loudly, Yang cocked her head to the side, drumming her fingers on the table. "Dorm room?"

"Not a chance." Weiss nearly exploded, but settled instead her balling her hands into fists, and biting her lower lip. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not until I'm sure you're not going to accost me."

"That's why."

"Yang..." Weiss grumbled. "Elaborate."

"Kissing you." The blonde sighed. "It's not a thing that's going to happen...you don't trust me."

"I never said that..." Weiss snipped.

"You hinted at it." Yang said pointedly, chin resting in her palm. "I'd never hurt you intentionally, Weiss. Thing is, today was an accident. Didn't mean to go that far." Smirking dirtily, and shaking her head, she sighed. Her smile faded, and a softness found her voice. "I can't even apologize for it, because honestly, even if things shouldn't have come out like that, I'm not sorry. I'm happy it's all finally just…out there…I don't have to hide it from you anymore."

"But you _do_ have to explain it." Weiss pressed. Morbid curiosity was getting the better of her, and she knew it. She hated the fact that she was clueless about Yang's feelings. Digging down to the heart of the matter was the best that she could do. "You owe me that much, don't you think?"

Sucking on her teeth, Yang considered that. She forced another smile then, but it was a weak one, so unlike her usual ones. She reached over, her fingers toying with those pure white bangs. "I like you." Yang said tenderly. "That's all there is to it."

Weiss was still in a state of disbelief. "No one put you up to this?"

"Nope."

"…are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Yang…"

"What?"

Weiss couldn't focus on the woman next to her, so her gaze found the table instead. "You and those infuriating one word answers…stop it."

"You want more, we go to the dorm room." Yang said then. "I promise I won't even touch you unless you want me to. I'll stay on the other side of the room if I have to…but I need at least that much trust."

Weiss nodded slowly as she stood. "Fine, dorm room, but this had better be good."

"It might be."

"Yang, I mean it."

The walk was quiet, and tense. Weiss sat on her bed, and Yang kept her distance as promised, leaning on the wall by the door. She wouldn't go near the woman, wouldn't touch her, and wouldn't even look...not unless Weiss unless invited her to. The only thing Yang was expected to do right then was talk, so, that's what she did.

"I don't know why it happened." Yang began carefully. "It's not like I can pinpoint one reason why I like you. You don't show off, and even though you might be pretty, you're also really vanilla…well, for a high schooler anyway." That was what Yang had long concluded. Though, if she was looking for an edgy girl, she probably would have fallen for Coco, or even Blake. There was something else about Weiss that put her a cut above the rest. "My life is full of things I don't have the answers for yet, and, I guess it's the mystery that attracts me…but, well, maybe that's not so unusual."

"So…you're…I mean…" The heiress struggled with the words, the mere idea of the label, what it implied made her bite her tongue.

"A flaming lesbian?" Yang offered with a laugh. "No, I'm not completely like that, but, well, I'm after you too." Yang shrugged then. "That's got to count for something, right?"

"I suppose." Even agreeing sounded wrong to Weiss somehow. "This isn't what I was expecting." She then admitted. Though, she had been trying to be careful about labels ever since her fight with Blake. Even though this was a different topic all together, that's what worried the woman even more.

"Weiss, can I sit next to you?"

"On my bed…?" she shook her head uneasily. "I don't think I like that implication."

"No implication." Yang said quickly. "I just want to be next to you."

Weiss pushed her long hair over her shoulder and nodded slowly. "…okay then."

Yang didn't even hesitate, and sat herself right next to the woman of her affection, her hand falling over the pale one that rested atop the sheets. She didn't miss the coiling of a huntress on edge. Biting down on a witty comment, Yang kept it to herself. Lost with what exactly to do, she forced a half smile, but when that failed to ease Weiss, she settled for a gentle squeeze to the cool palm below her own. "I'm a little freaked out too, you know."

"You're never like that."

"You're way beyond wrong…"

"I meant when it comes to this kind of thing." Weiss pulled her hand away. "You're never afraid of _this_ kind of thing."

"Except when I am." Yang shot back, almost too quickly for her own comfort. Cursing her haste, she averted her gaze, not wanting her genuine intensity to upset Weiss. "I know what I want to do, but I think that really would freak you out…and that freaks me out. So yeah, Weiss, I'm pretty edgy too right now, because no matter what happens, we're a team, and I don't want to lose at least that."

"And if I let you do…whatever it is you want to do…"

"It would make me really, really happy…" Yang shrugged and averted her gaze once more. "So long as you didn't go screaming from the room after that."

"Um..." Weiss frowned, tucking her legs under her white dress.

"I didn't mean that." Yang said with a small laugh, gaining just a small bit of confidence.

"Knowing you, it could be anything." And with that small wag of her finger, and scolding tone, reality had found them. Even if only a little bit. "You can't blame me for assuming…"

"Unless your mind was already in the gutter." Yang stretched casually, and leaned back, her hands acting as a pillow for her head. She looked up to bed above her. "If I could do what I wanted, then I would…" Yang cut herself off, and gave Weiss a look. "Can I just show you? Do you trust me to show you?"

"It depends how weird it is."

"No more weird than what other girls might um…" Yang realized how foolish it sounded, and knocked her own forehead with her knuckles. "Okay, it might be weird for us, given the current situation. I swear, it's nothing bad though."

"Fine." Weiss finally agreed as she scooted forward just a little bit.

"Really?" Yang asked, as she sat up slowly, hardly believing it.

Weiss could only swallow down her small bit of trepidation. She wasn't completely sure, but, she wasn't against it either. "I said I wanted to know the truth, didn't I?"

Yang pulled her courage together one fragment at a time as she moved ever closer to her prize. One calloused hand lifted to cup a cool cheek, and the other she used to brace herself as she guided Weiss to lay down. There some reluctance, but that was quickly squashed down by the thumb that ran across her lower lip. Promises of what was to come, mingling with the promises that Yang wouldn't push the situation too far.

With Weiss laying beneath her, a small dream came true as she leaned down to kiss her tenderly. The too soft kiss was lingering, even as Yang pulled away just a fraction. Their shared breath mingled. It was too sweet, too tantalizingly good, and with no more resistance to hold her back, she kissed Weiss again. This time, there was a nip in that kiss, teethe gently tugging, and the softest sound emanated from that action.

Pure bliss, and little more. Yang pulled away then to fully look at Weiss once more. The blush on her cheeks was too beautiful. With a hard gulp, Yang forced herself to take a shuttering breath. She wanted to take the hand that still rested on that heated cheek and trail it downward. Fearing that she might spook Weiss though, Yang remained absolutely still, heaving another unsteady breath.

"The truth is, I want you." Yang felt easier saying it now. Without that fear in those icy eyes to hold her back anymore, she could finally say what she needed to say. "You wanted to know, so that's what it is." She nipped at one reddening ear, and her breath carried her confession deeper, a purr in her voice resonating deep within the girl she spoke to. "I. Want. You...all of you." A kiss, a nip to fragile skin, and a tiny lick to the redness left behind. Then, another kiss, this time deeper, upon the lips of the woman who might as well have been a goddess. "And I want you, to want me too."

And like that, Weiss squeaked, because she found herself in a rather compromising position. Her hand, her palm, meeting one of Yang's supple breasts through the clothing. Yang's hand held hers in place. Each breath pressing that erect nipple, straining against multiple layers of too tight fabric.

Weiss could feel all of it, and gritted her teeth ever so slightly, hot air jetting through her nose, because this was beyond her expectations. And, she had a small truth of her own, buried deep in her own soul. Something she had never once admitted to herself, though she had considered airing the concern several times.

"I'm not opposed." Weiss murmured hotly. "I'm not, really." She pulled her hand away all the same, because she couldn't think clearly, and she dearly wanted that much dignity. "I…enjoy being with you." It was harder to say than she wanted to admit, but Yang's spark of hope threatened to dwindle, and Weiss didn't want to snuff it out entirely. So, sitting up, arms outstretched, she pulled Yang close to her body, hissing only slightly when Yang crashed directly on top of her. "I want to be."

Yang's leg found itself in an entirely compromising position. One that caused them both to bite down on the things that they could have said. A deep blush burned proclaim cheeks, shame there, and self loathing. Yang had to know of her arousal now, because Weiss knew her skirt wasn't that long, and her panties were moist.

Burying her face into the crook of Yang's shoulder, Weiss released a shuttering sigh. "Don't tell anybody. If my family ever found out, they'd…" Weiss didn't even know. She didn't want to know. "I want to be with you…so please…"

Yang nodded into the hug. "I won't tell anyone." She forced out, a husk in her voice. "But, Weiss, I really need to move, because…" She swallowed hard. Her leg wasn't the only one rubbing up against a tender area. Any longer, she'd really be tempted to jump this girl, and Weiss clearly wasn't quite ready for that.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 4**

Even though they had separated, they hadn't exactly untangled themselves from each other entirely. Yang found herself on her back, with Weiss taking up residence nearby, a hand splayed across Yang's exposed belly. It wasn't exactly covert of them, but since they were in their own room, Weiss permitted the act. They'd known from the start, sharing such a close proximity would prove embarrassing when someone walked in on them, but neither one of them had accounted for it being so soon.

"Oh my god…" Blake muttered as she grasped the doorknob in her hand. "Please tell me you didn't!" She wasn't sure if she should slam the door shut and go back to the library, or to beat the crap out of her roommates for indecent exposure.

Yang shot up, the covers falling from around her. "Does it look like we did anything?" She asked in mild outrage. Even though her jacket had been left forgotten, she was a far cry from naked.

Blake shook her head and averted her gaze. "With the way you were under the covers, who could tell, really…"

Weiss clung to her blankets though, slight panic etching against her usual controlled logic. "E-even if we did, what business would it be of yours?!"

"Business I don't want to be privy to it." Blake shuttered, disgust leaking into her voice. Even thinking about her roommates getting frisky made her flesh crawl. She had it on good authority already that they hadn't just been cuddling. Blake's nose didn't lie.

"As if you would be." Weiss fired back.

"Some of us are hyper aware of what goes on around them." Blake almost hissed, pointing at her ears, as if that was enough of an indication. She wasn't stupid either. "And Yang can't keep her hands to herself platonically. Never mind when she's interested in someone."

Blinking, Weiss took a breath. "Oh…right." When she tried to stand, she was met with resistance. Yang yanked her into a cuddled position, the blonde against the wall, with Weiss pressed into her. "Y-yang?" Weiss squeaked.

"Mine." Yang said then with a playful little grin.

"Yang…" Weiss murmured embarrassedly into the tantalizing bosom presented to her. "Please, let me go."

"Nope, not until you say you're mine…"

This time, the breath of air that Blake released really did sound like a hiss. Composing herself, Blake cleared her throat. "Just agree with her Weiss, or she'll keep trying to torture us with her overt displays of affection."

"Who says I'll stop even when Weiss agrees?"

"Because if you don't stop, then I know you'll only be doing it to drive me crazy." Then, the cat-eared resident began to take her leave. "Get in the shower before you guys go anywhere with a lot of people. You reek of foreplay." Blake warned them before slamming the door behind her.

Yang and Weiss both looked at each other, but it was the blonde who sniffed at Weiss. "She's joking! I don't smell anything…I mean, she is just joking, right?"

Weiss didn't utter a peep, even as her cheeks tinged a deep rosy red.

"You okay there, cutie?" Yang asked, nonplused until she realized that Weiss was thoroughly bothered by something. Then, her voice got quiet, her words delicate and completely gentle. "Weiss…" Yang's attitude flipped on a dime, her fingers coming up to tangle in the perfectly white tresses of the girl she loved. "Talk...tell me what's happening in that head of yours."

Frankly, there were no thoughts, at least none that were truly clear to her. All that played over and over was the threat Blake issued, and the impending reality that being in a closet relationship might not be an option after all. "Nothing." Weiss finally forced out with unsteadiness. "Never mind."

Yang didn't believe that, but she let it go. Instead, she buried herself in the warmth of the woman in her arms. There was something to be said for losing oneself in the moment, and Yang just wanted to melt into that embrace. Her breath became shallow with content, but she couldn't say the same for the still rigid lover in her arms. Weiss refused to relax so Yang quickly devised a plan.

"Come with me." She said with a grin.

"Go where now?"

"Date." Yang chirped, her thousand watt smile brilliant as she mentally scurried through all of the places she intended to take the girl. Dinner, movies, the works. It would be entirely sappy, completely predictable, and that would be the whole point…at least, by the time she was done.

…

Across the campus, romance came no easier. Unfortunately for Ruby, she had no idea how best to convey her thoughts, and Nora seemed not to take notice of them at all.

"So, you really don't know what it's like then...to have a family...I mean?"

"Hmm, nope." Nora said as plain as day. "Can't exactly say I remember, it's been so long."

"It's been a long time since my mom died but..." Ruby trailed off with a shrug.

"See, and I think that's it." Nora pointed out with a casual little shrug, pupping blueberries into her mouth merrily. "You have other people who actually remember your mom. So, you get to remember her too. You've got a home, and all of that to go back to...and that place is filled with all of those little things." Another blueberry later, and Nora continued on. "I don't have anything like that."

"Sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?" Nora asked, as she finished with her share of the very surprise picnic. "It's not your fault, Ruby."

"That's true..." ruby nodded. "But...I mean, shouldn't you...want that?"

Nora made a small little hum of contemplation, playfully tapping the tips of her toes together. When she had been greeted by the youngest member of Beacon to currently attend, she had found Ruby to be rather uneasy. The conversation topics had been rather deep this sunny afternoon. While Nora truly didn't mind, she did grow a tiny bit concerned for Ruby's sake.

"Ruby..."

"Yeah, Nora?"

"What's up?"

"The sky?"

"No...well, I mean it is, technically..." Nora turned to regard the girl then. "Ruby, I mean, what's really up?"

It wasn't uncommon for the younger students to take a liking to older ones. Following them around, or idolizing them was a normal thing. It was one of the perks of being older. With more hunts under their belts, being noticed came with the territory. Considering this, Nora wasn't exactly surprised when Ruby had affixed herself to Nora's side like glue, acting like the awe-inspired younger girl that Ruby truly was.

Even though they were in the same year, the prodigy was still slightly out of her element, and Nora knew that.

"Oh...um...well..."

"Ruby..."

"Just been thinking a whole big bunch. That's all."

"Hmm. What about?"

"Oh, you know...this and that..."

Nora grinned at that. "Uh-huh..."

In fact, those small few years that separated them meant a world of difference for hunters during training. Ruby had skipped a few years, and as a result, many fundamental hunts. Ruby had even skipped basic team formation drills. The girl was a fast leaner that department though, so it hadn't slowed her down. Even so, Ruby was a tiny fish in a very large, dangerous, and competitive pond.

"Nora..."

"Yeah?"

Teammates were also rivals, vying for respect from their betters. Given the nature of their schooling, and their future lives, admiration from their peers came equally as important to many aspiring to greatness.

To add insult to injury, Nora also didn't think anything of the fact that Ruby saw the need to cling to her.

In many ways, that was simply Ruby's way. She was fun to be with anyway, and Nora never considered that it would be a problem. Over time, however, she did begin to notice the eyes of those around her. Her team, and Ruby's team for that matter. They kept sending her odd looks, and Nora picked up on the slowly burning animosity stemming from Yang. At first, she considered it jealousy, and then thought it might simply be confusion.

Even at that, Nora brushed everything aside.

"There has been something, actually." Ruby began slowly. "Something that I kind of...really needed to talk to you about..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of, hard to explain."

"Well, whenever I find something hard to say, I just blurt it out there, and let everyone sort of deal with it however they can." Nora suggested simply. "It's easier that way."

"Well...I don't know." Ruby hesitated.

There was nothing wrong with a younger girl finding a mentor, or at least, that's what Nora thought.

The older girl had plenty of them in the past, and, even at Beacon, Nora wasn't opposed to finding her own muse once more. She just hadn't found one yet. Sooner or later though, she probably would. Learning new tactics, and sparring against them to become stronger...it was par for the course. It was just, at that moment, she was too busy dealing with Ruby. Too busy enjoying the fact that the girl found her worthy of such admiration.

"Just do it Ruby..." Nora said with a big grin. "What have you got to lose?"

"Well, Have you liked anyone?" Ruby finally asked, her voice just a pitch higher than a squeak.

The question finally brought Nora back to earth. Back to the reality that Ruby was, in fact, still too young to be a high school student.

"Have I ever liked anyone?" Nora parroted. "You mean, as more than a friend?"

"Yeah…" Ruby said nervously while touching her fingers together over and over. Her usual fidgeting worse by nature of the topic. "Liked someone…like that."

Under the tree in which they sat, Nora contemplated this with the same easygoing response she took to all of those types of questions. "Nah." She laughed before she continued. "It would be nice to have someone, maybe. I've got other goals to deal with first, so I don't have time to think about that."

"Oh…"

Ruffling the dark hair atop ruby's head, Nora offered her a carefree glance. "You okay, Ruby?"

"I…uh…yeah, I'm okay."

One hand reached out to stop the continuous wiggling of fingers, and Ruby fully met Nora's gaze. In that single moment, Nora bit down hard on her own tongue. She wasn't completely oblivious, and for as much fun as she liked to have, she wasn't entirely stupid either. Offering a self-deprecating smile, Nora cleared her throat. "Ruby…how many hunts have you been on?"

"Thirty six or so…" Ruby murmured.

"Not practice ones in a school sanctioned forest." Nora clarified. "Ones out on assignment, with a chaperone or not."

"Oh…" After some quick math, Ruby spoke again. "Two."

"Over a hundred." Nora told her. "Those start at the entry level feeder schools before you graduate."

"My uncle took me out though, unofficially."

Nora sighed, with a little shake of her head. Wistful, and bemused. "He would have had to. You're too good of a fighter not to have undergone some pretty hard training." Nora could respect that, and even found it partially amazing that Ruby could keep up. "How many teams have you been assigned?"

"One."

"Eight." Nora said again, pointing out further the divide between them. "I've always had Ren by my side, of course. It's just that teams change a lot...and not always under the best circumstances." Then, while looking up to the sky, Nora's next question was very soft. "How many school friends have you lost to fighting?"

"Like, disagreements?"

"No…" Nora, slung an arm around the girl. "Like…gone…gone-gone, Ruby."

Ruby blinked a few times, the implication finally coming to her. "Family…but, not friends. Not even one."

Nora sighed. "You're lucky, Ruby. Very, very lucky." Sooner or later, Nora knew that too would change for the girl. It always did.

Nora lost count of how many friends, and family for that matter, that she had lost over the years. Nora strived to be as up-beat as possible. To force a smile, and to laugh as much as she could. To build memories as vast and as grand as she could perceive possible. If she could do that, she could live with the hard times. She could push through them.

That's exactly what Nora planned to do in this case too, because being awkward about it just wouldn't do her any good…and what was done…was done.

With a tiny smirk, arm still slung around Ruby's shoulders, pulling her close, she went back to gazing at the field ahead of them. "Trust me, there are better people than me out there for you. People who are ready to commit themselves to more than just being a huntress. I'm not like that, though. My goal is graduating from this school in one piece, and that's not going to be as easy as I make it sound."

"Nora, I…" A thumb shushed her.

"Enjoy what we have, for what we have." Nora murmured, tapping Ruby's nose and pulling the younger girl across her lap. "We don't have to be 'together-together' to do things like this…we just can't go beyond things like this…does that make sense?"

Ruby nodded, but the tears were already at the edges of her eyes.

Nora, undaunted by even that, only gave a little shake of her head. She hugged Ruby closer, letting the tears fall to dampen her shoulder. It was the least she could do for breaking the girls' heart, because Ruby was the sweetest thing. There was nothing more she could say. She just had to hope that her actions spoke for her, as they usually did.

A few hours later, when she finally deposited a still distraught Ruby in front of the RWBY dorm room, she did so with even measure kindness and firmness in the matter, because that's what a mentor was supposed to do. It's what her mentors would do for her…what her good friends would have done….and what she _had_ to do for Ruby.

The whole ordeal left her feeling unsettled though, as she entered into her own room across the hall, closed the door, and all but jumped into the first occupied bed. Pyrrha looked down from her book. Nora buried her face into the gladiator's lap.

"Nora?"

"I'm an idiot." The girl murmured, muffled by the skirt Pyrrha chose to wear. "I'm a huge, blithering, colossal idiot!"

Setting the reading material aside immediately if not sooner, Pyrrha gave a gentle tug to Nora's unruly tresses. "What happened?"

"I hurt Ruby." Nora replied as she looked up with puppy-dog eyes. "I honest to dust hurt her. Oh, she was crying, Pyrrha. I could hardly take it, but I couldn't let her think that I could be with her. Yang's going to kill me, and all of her team will probably hate me, not that it matters because I'll be dead, but still!" She buried her face into her second favorite spot. "Oh, where's Ren when I need him!"

"Sparring match." Pyrrha had stated the obvious, but frowned when she felt fingers bunching at the red material she donned. "You didn't try to hurt her feelings, did you?"

"Who would want to hurt Ruby?" Nora asked as she sprang up from her position. "Pyrrha, that's just crazy. Wanting to hurt that girl is like…is like…trying to drown a kitten. It's just not something anyone would want to do!" Nora flailed, color draining from her face at the thought.

"Nora?"

"Oh god, and I did that!"

"Nora…"

"I drowned the kitten."

Fingers at her temples, Pyrrha worked through a long suffering sigh. This was the problem with Nora. She took things to heart too much, even if she didn't look like it. "Nora!" Pyrrha barked when gentleness failed. This got the girl's attention, and Nora went back to doing what she did best in time like these.

"I'm a horrible, terrible person." Clinging onto whoever might allow her that small little smidgen of comfort.

"You are not...and you haven't drown any kittens." Pyrrha said soothingly. "Or Ruby for that matter…"

Just as Nora was about to start up on another tirade of guilt and remorse, Ren opened the door. She had never launched herself at him so fast in her life, all but bowling him over, as Pyrrha released a small sigh of relief.

…

Blake's ears picked up Nora's entire rant. Not that she had been trying to be quiet by any means, but even so, Blake was aggravated.

Sighing in a way that only Blake could. Exasperated, and ready to rip the first thing that touched her twitching ears in half. She mentally berated Nora over, and over, and over again. There were so many things she wanted to say, and yet she couldn't say any of them. Blake really couldn't fault Nora, and that was the worst of it. Still, Yang was off campus, and Weiss likely with her.

Blake had decided to deal with the matter herself, which led to her current predicament.

Ruby, curled in her bed, sobbing into her shoulder, a quaking and distraught bundle of sadness. Blake liked her space, and though she often pressed that she was exactly feline, she couldn't help but take note of how her tendencies bordered on feral. She most certainly didn't want Ruby cuddling into her, holding onto her, sobbing on her shoulder, or falling asleep that way…

...which is exactly what happened...

The ears atop her head flicked in annoyance once again as this appalling day came to a close. The door finally opening to a very love struck Yang. If that wasn't icing on the cake, the fact that Yang was holding a blushing Weiss bridal style certainly was. As they both burst through the door, Yang ignored the constant orders from Weiss to be put down.

In fact, Yang looked like she was in her prime.

"And that would be full-dust-fucking-circle." Blake grumbled, as she shot Yang a glare that could kill. "Where the hell were you two?"

"We were out." Yang sobered immediately as she gently let Weiss down. "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Blake growled as both girls came to get a closer look at Ruby. "Nora let her down as easy as she could, but it wasn't easy enough I guess."

"So you're the rebound?" Yang asked with an upraised eyebrow. "Careful with her Blake, she's still a virgin."

"Shut up!" Blake ordered with horror. That hadn't even crossed her mind, and she never planned on viewing the situation in that way. "Get her out of my bed."

"Ruby clings in her sleep." Weiss noted, having been the victim of a few times when Ruby had sleepily found her way to the bottom of the bunk beds late at night.

Yang only shook her head with a sad little smile. "All's fair in love and war." And that was true too, because Nora was genuinely a good person. Yang knew that, which was why she stayed out of to begin with…but now she could finally step in, and she did, pulling Ruby effortlessly into her arms. She meandered over to the other side of the room, putting her down on Weiss's bed instead.

"And just where am I going to sleep?" Weiss asked haughtily as she viewed this new development.

"I already told you." Yang said as she pulled Weiss into another possessive hug. "Mine."

"Oh Jesus." Blake tossed the blankets over her eyes, and mushed down her ears. "No rutting while I'm here, or I swear I'll kill you both."

"I don't want to do that Blake." Yang said, all humor finally dead in her voice. Replaced with something completely tense. "Honestly...I just want to sleep..." Flicking her gaze back to Ruby, she sighed deeply again. "Tomorrow is going to suck...and the day after...and maybe even the day after that too." Frowning darkly, she let out a rush of breath that carried the weight of her words. "Shit..."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 5**

That dream again, always the same thing.

There it sat, lingering in the fog of her mind. It made her wake up with a small jostle and a soft disappointed sigh. Then she realized the weight pressing into her, the body of another. In her sleep induced haze, she wrapped her arms around that figure, pulling it closer, and taking a deep breath. Much to her confusion, though, it wasn't the smell of Ruby's soap that invaded her nose, and then she remembered.

It was Weiss.

The flood of memories returned, wordless emotions that Yang couldn't speak catching themselves in her throat. Now with the darkness to hide her, she cried softly. She didn't make a move, her breathing completely controlled, totally even. Well practiced out of force, she knew how to cry under the silence. How to hide it from the world, and even as she held a bedfellow so close. She did have years of practice after all. There was only one thing Yang didn't account for…

Weiss was a light sleeper. A very light one, in fact.

Her ears might not have been as sensitive as Blake's, and she could admit that she could be ignorant of the world around her at the best of times…but there was no mistaking the tight hold around her thin body. The shaking in those strong arms…the outright solid perfection of the immovable object that was, in general, a distraught human being trying to hide their pain. Yang was that unstoppable force.

Opening her eyes to the darkness of the room, she wordlessly snuggled into Yang, turning in the embrace so that she could hold the much taller, robust woman.

She said nothing, unsure of where exactly this inexplicable sadness was coming from. She dared not assume, because if Weiss did, she knew she would conclude the worst. So instead, she steeled her own nerves, locked away her own preconceived notions. She simply held Yang, even if she doubted that it really did any good.

…

The sun lifted to the morning sky, and so with it, the students of the academy. Well, most of the students. A select few had decided the day didn't exist at all, and they refused to acknowledge it. Ruby had even crawled back to her own bed to avoid being easy to reach. She just wanted to be left alone. They all tried, and they all failed in getting her to open up to them.

Finally, it was Blake's turn to try, and she gave it an honest effort.

"Ruby, look at what I have…" Blake coaxed. "It's your favorite kind of candy bar…" She was not above bribery to get what she wanted. She rustled the packaging to make sure Ruby heard it. "Do you want it?"

The young leader remained uninterested. "No."

"It's no use." Yang pointed out. Blake had been at it for several attempts, but Ruby wasn't taking the bait. She wouldn't. "When she's like this, nothing will pull her out of bed, not even our dad's fresh baked cookies."

The two partners shared a look, Blake's ear flicking unhappily at the news. She let loose another tiny growl.

"It's not going to work." Yang murmured sadly. In truth, she had tried her best too…and even her triple chocolate brownies had gone by, ignored.

The cat-eared woman persisted anyway. "Coffee cake?"

"No."

"Cinnamon rolls?"

"No."

"Hot chocolate?"

"No."

Blake switched gears. "We can go on a shopping trip to the forge after class...get some new gear for your scythe?"

Another sad little sigh. "No thanks."

"I will literally buy you anything if you'll just get out of bed." Blake prodded, now at the end of her rope.

"Blake, please, just let her sleep." Yang said, as Ruby not only skipped breakfast, but denied wanting any of the sweet confections that had been wafted by her buried head. Blake hadn't held anything back, having deposited so many sweets and even some savory delights in front of the upset team leader. "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry."

Blake looked up to where Weiss was also buried under the covers. "She's still stuck up there too, isn't she?"

"Yep…" Yang sighed. This was not going to be a good day. "Weiss, we have class…up now."

"There is no way I'm going to class right now…and you know why."

Yang knew that things weren't going to be easy. Romance wasn't exactly new to Yang, and she expected a bit of hesitancy when it came to Weiss, purely because Weiss was such a highly strung out person. The heiress didn't know how to relax. In her mind everyone had an agenda, and everything shouldn't be trusted. The members of team RWBY had taken great time and effort to dispel any of those myths, biases, phobias, and general snootiness. It was a hard won battle, but they'd all managed to get Weiss into a mindset that worked well for the entire group.

Yang's confession derailed that comfort, greatly.

Weiss was slowly getting wound up, and whatever it was causing the situation, Yang hadn't been sure. She could barely coax Weiss into bed with her the night before, even though she swore over and over that she wasn't going to do anything other than sleep. This was getting comp0letely out of hand.

"Uh, actually, I kind of don't." Yang said a bit sheepishly. Did she do something wrong? "So why don't you come down from there, and we can go to class, and then I'll be sure to get us a huge lunch to make up for skipping breakfast."

"I said no, Yang!" Weiss shouted as she clung to the covers for dear sweet life.

"You can't skip class." Yang said as she began to get dressed, as she did every single day. In the middle of the open room, not giving a rat's ass who saw what. "We have to go, and we have to go now."

"Every faunas in the school will know." Weiss protested.

"Oh for the love of god…" Yang huffed, giving Blake a look. "Jokes over…tell her you were just screwing with her head. If we're late, we're all going to get slammed with detention."

"…I wasn't joking." Blake muttered with a blush. "I do have a nose, you know."

Yang's eyes went wide, and suddenly she found herself blushing too. "So then, whenever I showed myself a good time, and I thought you were asleep…?"

"Yes, Yang." Blake sighed as she fixed her bow that had come askew during the night. "I can smell that too."

"…huh you know, that's kind of hot."

"Yang!"

The twin shouts caused the blonde to smirk, before she let the implication set in. "Okay, so let me see if I can get this down. What you're saying is that really, there's no hiding this."

"That would be correct." Blake nodded having gathered the rest of her things. "Unless you get really good at hiding your scent. It gets deeper when you hang all over someone like you two have. That doesn't include the pheromones all over you guys, either."

"Which is near impossible to hide, I'm assuming?" Yang surmised, only to see Blake nod in agreement. "Well, crap…"

Weiss sighed at length. Ruby hadn't budged from her bed, and Weiss knew that Yang was just as reluctant to leave her alone. "Blake, I'm calling in a favor, and I'm doing it now." The white haired woman said as she hopped down from Yang's bed with that same self-important air about her.

Blake, expecting that, deadpanned. "And that would be…?"

"We're sick…with a...a flu bug…" Weiss intoned, pointing at Ruby. "Too sick to go to class. We need you to take notes."

Blake growled deeply, but she shook her head at the sight of Yang, who truly did seem to be in agony about leaving Ruby to her lonesome. Seeing as she didn't want to have a repeated performance of the last time Ruby couldn't find her sister, Blake relented. "Today only." She muttered as she prepared for the inevitable inquiries from a plethora of teachers. "And only if you to two promise me that neither one of you will go looking for a fight with Nora."

"I don't intend to do anything." Weiss proclaimed, though she looked down at her body with newfound trepidation. "…except take a shower."

Blake eyed the blonde firecracker. "What about you, Yang?"

The blonde was quiet. She was, in fact, thinking of having words with that troublesome Nora. Jaw stiffened, she let out a harsh curse instead. "I'm…not…going to hurt Nora…" Yang muttered with thinly veiled contempt. "I am…however…going to have a talk with Nora. Just later." Right now, she needed to deal with Ruby. Climbing up to Ruby's bead, she wrapped her arms around the big fluffy mass of blankets, hulling the younger girl into her lap. "Hey short-stack."

Ruby only scowled in her petulant little way and crawled off of her sister, curling up into the tiniest possible ball she could, as she bit back a sob.

" _Yang_..." Blake hissed...

"What?" Yang asked, eyes wide. "What did I do this time."

"Pancakes." Blake mouthed soundlessly in agitation.

That clicked, and Yang felt guilty all over again. "Oh..." She wasn't even thinking about that. The term just came out of her mouth. "Oh, Ruby, I didn't mean it like that, honest." No response, only more tears, and this had Yang on the verge of crying too. "Please, you have to believe me..."

"Weiss, do you think you can hold down the fort here while I go to class?" Blake asked, but the silver haired girl just shook her head.

"I can handle one of them, but not two of them." Weiss whispered into Blake's bow, for her ears alone. "I've never seen Ruby like this before."

Blake, unfortunately concurred. She looked down at her books, and shook her head, putting them all into a corner with a muted thud. She refused to leave Yang with the two of them as they were, even as she resigned herself to be annoyed before the afternoon even began in earnest. She plopped down on her bed, and crossed her arms.

None of them were going to class, it seemed.

…

As expected, a teacher came by to check on them after having been missing from the class as a unit. Glynda cleared her throat to step into one of the many rooms she considered a disaster area. The beds alone were a danger to the health of the inhabitants, but she bit back her retort on the matter. She had been told several times that children will be children, and this was included in that long never ending rant.

Still, as she took in the sight of a completely anti-social Ruby, she couldn't fathom what was wrong with any of them. As was normal, she looked for the usual symptoms, but she found none. "Do any of you actually have a fever?" She asked this with equal measure sternness and caution as her palm landed on the last of the group to meet her inspection.

"No, but we all skipped breakfast because we were feeling like shit." Yang said from her bed, feigning illness to the best of her ability, even as she moved her forehead disobediently from the outstretched palm above her.

"You do feel warm to me." Glynda murmured.

"My semblance causes increased levels of body heat." Yang muttered. "I don't count."

Long slender fingers pressed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "Indeed, I see." It was true though, all of team RUBY had locked themselves away, unwilling to even make a peep out in the hall. That was rare indeed. Even more of a concern was that the youngest of the group surely wasn't acting normal at all. "I suspect this is less of a stomach bug, and something else entirely. Regardless, your team leader is in no capacity to function under her current condition…whatever that may be. I'll have you excused from attending classes."

She noted the sigh of relief that issued from Weiss, but she made no indication to it. She exited the room, satisfying the school's requirement…even if not her own. Glynda was a woman too, after all, fully aware of the plight of teenaged girls, and the drama of high school. Unlike most other schools, however, students had to overcome their problems themselves. Even if she wanted to help them, without being asked to do so, her hands were tied. Such was the training in such a place as Beacon.

When the room was no longer occupied by the faculty member, Weiss flung the covers off of her. "That was way too close for comfort…"

"Good thing Blake has sensitive hearing." Yang agreed as she made beeline over to her sister's bunk. "Ruby, you okay?" It wasn't exactly a shock to Yang when Ruby's only answer was to back into the far corner, away from human warmth and comfort. "Okay…" Yang swallowed hard. "Okay baby-sis, I'm going to be right back." A hand reached out then, grasping onto the fabric of her shirt.

"No." That was the only real word Ruby had used all day, but it was one that intoned a world of pain for anyone who might cross it.

"You want me to stay here?"

"No."

"You hungry yet?"

"…No."

Yang sighed, knowing why Ruby had her in a vice-like grip. "I promise you, I'm not going to throttle Nora." Though, Yang dearly wanted to. Another unhappy noise of denial greeted her, and Yang sighed hard. "Do you want me to…um…" God's she didn't want to ask this, because she didn't want to see the girl right now. "Want me to track her down, bring Nora to you?"

"Blake…" A sniffled little request caused more pain than Ruby would ever know.

Blake stayed put, the partners looked at each other. Yang knew that the hurt was etching across her features. A flash of red swallowed by the tidal wave of emotions that Yang couldn't process. A wordless question met lilac eyes, and Yang couldn't believe it. She could feel Weiss at her side now, but even that wasn't enough to calm the whirlwind her mind had become.

"Ruby…do you want Blake to go get Nora?" Yang tried to verify, though her voice shook senselessly. She knew what the request had really been.

"No…" Ruby murmured. "I want Blake."

Feeling like she had just been punched in the gut, Yang felt her head, her chest, her whole body just hurt. Part of it was her semblance, but the other part...the other part was a history, a routine, that was no longer Yang's alone.

"Yang…" Blake asked, feeling those unsteady waves of emotion. "Should I?"

"If it's what she wants." Yang bit out in the only way she possibly could. "Make it worse, Blake, I'll kill you." It wasn't a threat, it was a promise. She needed to get out, get away, before she caught fire. Before she knew it, her feet were moving on their own. Out the door, down the hall, Weiss following after her.

All Blake could do was stare at the aftermath of it all. The emptiness of the room, the choked back sobs, the fact that once again, she was covering for Yang. And she understood. Yang stepped down, backed away, because that's what Ruby wanted. The baby of the family was so loved and protected, that Yang would give her anything Ruby wanted…even if that something was to be given space. Resigned to look after Ruby once more, Blake climbed up to the top bunk. Just sat there, with her legs hanging off.

Her fingers brushed the fabric of the blanket, and Ruby finally emerged, eyes blurry and bloodshot from tears. Blake only sighed, patting her lap in welcome as Ruby rested her head there. It was going to be a long day without something to read, so she reached over and grabbed the book of fairytales that Ruby kept under her pillow. Opening the book, she settled in for a long, tedious, afternoon.

The only sounds permeating the room was Blake's voice as she read, and Ruby's occasional sad little sigh.

…

"I just don't get why?"

"I don't know either."

"Yeah, but she's my sister."

"And that matters?"

"It should…and even if it doesn't, she's your partner."

"So?"

"So why! Why pick Blake! Why not me…or you?" Yang punched the stone bench, cracking it. "Why not Nora? This whole stupid thing is her fault."

Weiss didn't know why, so she couldn't give Yang an answer. They sat on a bench concealed by a rather large tree and a few bushes. "Yang…she's…growing up. These things happen."

"Not to us, it doesn't." Yang retorted, a heat in her voice, pure rage that was kept lit by her own confusion. "You get right down to it, we're all each other really has. I've made it a priority to be there when she needed me…all she ever had to do was ask, and I was there." She said, snapping her fingers. "In a heartbeat."

"You can't always be there." Weiss murmured after a little while.

"But, that's not true, Weiss…" Yang gripped the bench as she leaned forward, eyes glued to the ground.

"What about after graduation?" The white haired woman asked. "Do you really think it'll be fair to her, or even you, if you keep trying to always be right there next to her? What about her dreams…and yours?" Weiss shook her head.

"It'll be just like always." Yang murmured.

"Would it?"

"Well, yeah." Yang was starting not to even believe her own words anymore. "The four of us, like always…why does it have to change? Don't fix what isn't broken, right?"

"It's not that simple, that's a pipe dream." Weiss told her. "There's no way of knowing if that'll pan out, and you can't expect that it will."

"Logic's a bee with an itch, isn't it?"

Weiss only shrugged. "Take it from a fellow baby sister. We don't like holding our siblings back. We don't want to be in their shadow forever. If I hid behind my sister for my whole life, I'd never be able to surpass her. I'm sure Ruby feels the same about you. You're a tough act to follow, you know."

"Heh, I wish I was." Yang laughed.

"You are…"

"No, really, I'm not." Reaching out, taking a hand into her own, she kissed those knuckles of porcelain. Weiss pulled her hand away though, and Yang bit down on her lower lip. She pushed away the hurt. Instead, she kept talking. "There's only one thing I know for sure in my life."

"Can I ask what?"

"I don't want to be my mother. I don't want to just abandon people…and never my family. So, when it came to Ruby, I always made sure if she needed me, I was there. Only a call away, but now we're living in the same dorm, on the same team…and I can't do anything to help her."

"Give it time, Yang…" Weiss soothed. "Knowing that you care is probably enough for her…"

"It's not enough for me." Yang protested, the hurt renewed in her eyes once more. "We're a team, all of us…I want to be able to do something. I hate feeling powerless, and you know that."

"No one wants to feel powerless."

"But that's how I feel right now."

"Then swing the power back into your own hands." Weiss told her, voice full of soft reassurance. "You can do that, can't you?"

Yang just forced a smirked. It was so bad, it even looked faked. It was the best she could do right then. "Not like I really have a choice…"

"No." Weiss agreed. "I suppose not."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Lines We Draw  
Chapter 6**

The reason Ruby wanted Blake's company was frankly rather simple. The woman wouldn't try to meddle any more than Ruby wanted her to. Blake didn't like conflict, and she wasn't a fan of picking fights inherently. She was dragged into them, sometimes, when personal conviction permitted. Other than that, Blake had no desire to provoke what didn't need to be fooled with.

On top of all of that, her reading was a nice distraction, and possibly the only one that Ruby could deal with right that instant.

She couldn't stop thinking of her sister though, the pain in her voice, and felt guilty. She knew she should go apologize, but she just couldn't bring herself to get off her bed to go looking. Besides, Weiss was with her, and that was another good reason to just stay put. She was sure talking to Yang would be a disaster, so Ruby didn't budge. Instead, she listened to Blake's voice. To the wind, and the cawing birds. She tried to rest. To sleep, but she couldn't.

Finally, her voice found purchase in the too thick air. "Blake…" Ruby said weakly after the fifth short story came to an end. "Am I really just a kid, like Weiss always says?"

Blake closed the book and sighed. Of the many pressing question she had expected, that had not been one of them. "Childlike, in some ways." Blake admitted distantly, but had long concluded that might not be a bad thing. "You're innocent, I would say. Not jaded, like the rest of us."

"And…if you had to say what you thought about Nora?" Ruby asked quietly. "Isn't she…I mean…aren't we the same?"

Blake huffed, inwardly cursing Yang for leaving her alone with Ruby. Like it or not, this girl really needed a different influence. Blake refused to be it. "Nora...hmmm...well, her exuberance is forced, I'd say. Yours comes naturally, there's a difference. Nora's history, well, it's probably pretty dark."

"You really think so?"

"I can feel that. I think most of the others can feel it too."

"I never noticed it before." Ruby murmured with a sigh. "She's always laughing and fooling around…"

"And mowing down her classes, and training particularly hard." Blake added. "That smile on her face, that's just determination. Nora's down to earth though, and all of that optimism is no different from Yang's. There's a limit to it, Ruby. She works just as hard as the rest of us, probably even harder, actually."

"But what about all of the food fights, and the pranks?"

"She's boosting the morale of her classmates." Blake explained simply. "We all do it from time to time, in our own little ways. I'm sure she's genuinely having a good time when she does that, but, she does have reasons for it, I'm sure." Hopping off of the bed, Blake opened the window to get some fresh air. "None of us have had an easy time of things, but you've been lucky enough to have Yang to look after you. That's another thing that separates you and Nora."

"But she's always had Ren." Ruby protested before her voice grew quiet again. "She told me that…"

"Bonds built by shared adversity kept her going, but, that really doesn't matter right now." Blake shrugged. "Listen, you need to talk to Yang, and you need to apologize to her. You mean the world to her, and she hates seeing you upset…pushing Yang away like that isn't right…and that's not all." Blake sighed again. "You have goals, right? That's why you came to an advanced high school for hunters and huntresses."

"Yeah, and my grades haven't completely plummeted, right?" Ruby asked. "I get that I'm younger, but I'm holding my own in class and on assignments."

"Let me rephrase that." Blake tried again. "This is a school where everyone is between two and six years older than you are. On top of that, you're a team leader. You've got a lot to prove to everyone." Flicking an apprising glance at Ruby just once, she considered it. "Especially if you have any chance of Nora seeing you as the adult you think you are. You're a prodigy as a huntress, but what about as a person? And romance?" Blake shook her head. "You've got time, so give yourself some."

…

Team RWBY was sorely missed at the lunch table that afternoon. Other teams had noticed that the usual lunch room hullabaloo had yet to occur, and many sat on edge, waiting for one of the troublemakers to come crashing through the wall, or worse. Not a day went by that someone wasn't starting something, and with half of the usual culprits missing, even more attention fell on team JNPR.

It was a ticking time bomb, and everyone, even the second and third years, noticed.

"I must have really done it this time." Nora proclaimed as yet another worried team scurried by. Her plate of pancakes had been left entirely forgotten, and this raised many questions from the surrounding tables. "I was hoping she would bounce back."

"She will." Ren told her.

"Yes, of course she will." Pyrrha concluded with an assuring little nod. "Ruby wouldn't let something like this get her down for long. Besides, the rumors speak differently. An illness, I presume?"

"That's what people are saying, but, I don't know about that." She rebuked tiredly. Nora had slept in, forgot breakfast, and had merely chomped on an energy bar during first hour. Strangely enough, the bottomless pit was not hungry. She was many things, but the growling of her gut wasn't on the list of things she cared to think about. "I'm such an idiot…"

"I heard it was a flu bug." Ren explained as he ate from his respective position right beside Nora. "Even Weiss, who is particularly studious mind you, missed out on class. I would think that might hold up the validity of the argument." When Nora gave him a sour look, he merely closed his eyes and shook his head.

"He's right. It probably is just a cold, or the flu." Pyrrha, who flanked Nora's other side gave Ren a tiny smile, even though he clearly couldn't see it. His unwavering fortitude was something she could respect about him, especially in times like this. "They'll be back on their feet in no time at all."

"Yeah, you guys are probably right." Jaune said, believing the excuse for what it was. He leaned across the table, regarding the shortest among them. "Besides that, Nora, don't you think Yang would be ticked off? If it was really your fault, I mean…"

"It's only a matter of time." Nora deflated, frowning deeply as she sipped from her milk. "Ruby is her little sister." The white substance made her want to cry. She just felt so, so guilty. "She's such a cute little thing too, you know? I really didn't mean to break her. Oh, but then again, I break everything. It's unforgiveable!" She slammed her carton onto the table, her drink now splashed into a puddle, the cardboard unsalvageable. "See? Broke that too."

"Depression strikes again…" Ren sighed as he cleaned up the mess. Afterward, he put a comforting hand on her back, rubbing her shoulders as he knew she liked. The action was an unspoken promise between the two of them. "Nora, it's honestly not your fault. You did what you thought was best, right?"

Nora nodded as a flair of static electricity touched between two strands of her unruly tresses. Unfortunately, she was not the only one affected. "Sorry Ren…"

With a long drawn out sign, Ren just pulled out the comb he kept hidden in his shirt sleeve for just such occasions. It happened more than he wanted to admit. After tending to his hair, he handed the comb to Pyrrha, who was also experiencing some static cling.

"Oh great, it's happening to you too now?" Nora rubbed her face, groaning out in aggravation. "Today just isn't my day…or your day for that matter."

"Well, I am sitting next to you, Metal acts as a conductor, and I'm covered in it, so there really isn't anything to blame you for." Pyrrha replied with a soft smile, already dealing with her unruly locks of red. "I'm surprised you have such good control of your semblance…well, usually."

Nora just sighed as Ren ruffled her hair with a tiny little smile. Her team knew how to comfort her, and as he slid the pancakes back in front of her, his words were as steadfast as she always knew they would be. "They'll make you feel better he said…and then after that, we can go look for a odd job or something."

"Actually," Pyrrha said with a knowing little smile. "I think I'd like to go one-on-one in the practice area. Nora's powered up today by the looks of it, might be a challenge to actually take her down. What do you say, Nora? Want to blow off a little steam after we eat?"

"All arena battles have to be watched over by a teacher." Ren reminded her.

Nora's eyes lit up. A fight sounded good. Better than good, if she were being honest. "That's true, but Port is always happy to sanction a fight when Goodwitch isn't. Do you think one of them would go for it?"

"It's either that, or let you destroy the lunchroom. The air is dry today, you'll be picking up static wherever you go at this rate." Pyrrha told her. "I'm sure that one of the teachers will understand completely. When we're done eating, we'll go locate one and ask right away."

…

Yang and Weiss didn't show up to the dorm room until well after curfew. Ruby was sound asleep already, and Blake had her eyes closed, ignoring the world. Her ear flicked against her pillow a few times though. A little reminder to her bunkmate that she could, in fact, hear them. They dressed for bed in their usual way. Yang out in the open. Blushing, Weiss walking down the hall to the bathroom, no doubt to drown herself in a shower for the second time that day.

Remembering what Blake said, Yang set the alarm to sound off an hour earlier than usual. They couldn't afford to miss class again. Her mind trailed to earlier that afternoon, when that soft hand slipped from her own. That unconscious little gesture so far and away from what Yang had been hoping for. She knew that Weiss wanted to keep things quiet, and only their team would every really know the truth.

Even so, the lack of public affection was a painful thing, because Yang hated to hold back.

She jumped up into her bed despondently, making herself comfortable, and laying in the quiet darkness. She tried to settle in, get comfortable, but the moments passed by, a slow trickle. No sleep came. Just deep thoughts, and ones of a carnal nature. A short while later, the door creaked open, and Weiss stepped through, clad in her too long nightshirt that covered her completely.

The woman headed to her own bed on instinct, but Yang called to her, lifting up the covers, and patting the mattress beside her.

"Do you really think we should?" Weiss asked, her voice low.

"Sure, why not?" That grin lingered until she realized Weiss was on the edge about it. "You don't want to?"

"I do but…" Looking over to Ruby's bunk, noticing the soft snores that came from the lump under the covers. She pointed. "What about her…and Blake."

"Please?" Hopeful, oh so very hopeful. Maybe too much so. She needed Weiss by her side.

Weiss let her soft frown even out, and she made her way across the room. Climbing to the top bunk, she smiled as Yang immediately pulled her close and draped the blankets around them.

"That's better." Yang murmured. Burying herself in the warmth of the girl in her bed was second nature now. Something so completely, utterly perfect. She didn't want to let the opportunity slip by ever again. She needed that assurance, more so than she wanted to let on. Certainly, that was her first mistake, because she leaned in, kissing Weiss deeply.

Having been denied such a passion all day long, she needed that contact now.

More than air, more than sleep. The barriers of the afternoon melted away in that too tight embrace, and it was the closest to heaven Yang had ever been. Perhaps too sure of herself, too sure of them, she let her hand wander under that nightshirt that was in the way. Eagerly, cupping one toned thigh, as she dragged it to rest over her hip, pressing herself even closer.

That's when Weiss froze.

"Yang…" She murmured, face flushed. "No."

It hurt again, even as another soft kiss on her lips eased the tension in her heart. "Do you think they'll judge you?" Yang asked, eyes closed, afraid of the answer.

"They wouldn't." Weiss said softly, tucking herself closer to the blonde. "It's just…"

"Tell me…please tell me…" Yang said under her breath, heated words, begging, pleading. "Please…"

Weiss didn't have words. She could only produce a shake of her head, and a kiss to Yang's forehead. Bashfulness overriding her usual calm demeanor. "Just please…not now." The heiress said, hoping it would be enough.

It wouldn't be, not for Yang. Still, she nodded anyway. Acceptance, completely and utterly so, even as her grip on Weiss tightened. She buried her face into the crook of that slender neck, inhaling deeply. "I need to hold you." Yang said under her breath once more. Careful not to let even Blake hear her cracking voice. "Please, don't push me away…I _need_ this."

"I do too." Weiss spoke, this time more sure of herself…of Yang's intentions….of knowing that she wouldn't be hated by the other inhabitants of the room…reminding herself of that all too important fact again. She too found herself burying herself into the warmth of another. Her forehead touching Yang's own. "I won't push you away. I'm right here."

"Are you?"

"For now." Weiss said. That's all she could promise. All she would ever be able to.

The world was ash to the two lovers. Sadly, Blake could not say the same. The inhabitant of the bottom bunk was still wide awake. Her left ear flicking in irritation as she rolled over, stuffing her nose firmly into the pillow, and pinning her ears against the top of her head. She dared not to be informed about her surrounding anymore, and for not the first time, wished she had been graced with a human's lack of perception.


End file.
